


you don't know you're beautiful (and that's what makes you beautiful)

by itszee



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Insecure Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance (Voltron) is a Good Boyfriend, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Suicide Attempt, it's really subtle though, klangst, that's a great tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-29 19:49:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15080456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itszee/pseuds/itszee
Summary: So that’s how Lance found him. Frozen, ready to cry, rope swaying softly in front of him.tw: Attempted suicide, Implied self-harm (subtle)





	you don't know you're beautiful (and that's what makes you beautiful)

**Author's Note:**

> tw: Attempted suicide, Implied self-harm (subtle)  
> vent

Keith thought back to when he actually believed the good things people were telling him. How he slowly lost trust in everyone, knowing he needed to be more like Shiro, that Shiro was better than him. How could he not? He grew up in a place where people were constantly telling Shiro he was amazing, telling Keith that he was doing good, that he needed that extra push to become great.

 

It was an unspoken but understood statement that he needed to be more like Shiro to become great.

 

He didn’t hate Shiro. Shiro was like the father figure he never had, and Keith was eternally grateful for it. But because of this, people had such high expectations for Keith that if he didn’t reach them, they were quick to lash out and say nasty things about him. Shiro this, Shiro that.

 

He got sick of it.

 

Shiro still managed to outdo him years later after being whisked into space on a giant blue robot lion.

 

Shiro was better at combat. Better at strategy. Better at _everything._

 

Keith became the leader after Shiro did, and he didn’t even fill his shoes halfway. Black would have been better off flying herself than having Keith pilot her.

 

Five years later, here he was, back on Earth, in his and Lance’s bedroom. Tears were welling up in his eyes, Keith biting his lip to keep them from falling. It was pathetic; standing on a chair in the middle of the room.

 

About to take his life.

 

Keith doesn’t think he’s being overdramatic. Why bother existing if someone so close to him can already do what he can do, and more? He has no special skills other than fighting, and if you haven’t noticed, that’s also Shiro’s strong spot.

 

He closes his eyes, feeling a tear escape, and he moves one foot forward to step off the chair.

 

Until he hears their front door slam, Lance’s cheery, “I’m home!” ringing through their house.

 

Shit.

 

Not here. Not with Lance in the house. He can’t do it.

 

“Keith? Babe?” Lance is calling for him, voice slightly frantic. They’ve had situations similar to this before- they never escalated this far, though. Lance had always, _always_ found him before he could get his hands on anything too deadly.

 

So that’s how Lance found him. Frozen, ready to cry, rope swaying softly in front of him.

 

“Oh, no. Honey…” Lance is biting his lip now, eyes filled with fear and empathy for his lover. He looks afraid to move, as if he takes one step closer Keith would take the final step right in front of him.

 

“Sit down, Keith. Come on.” Lance speaks again, voice soft and gentle. Keith’s heart jumps, guilt twisting into his chest. Lance almost never uses his real name, always calling him babe, honey, or something else sickeningly sweet. Keith loves it though. Loved it.

 

If Lance was here, what difference would that make? Lance would smile and text his real lover to come over, that he finally has a house for them, only it comes with a dead body. Plot twist- it’s the guy we hate. Hooray!

 

Keith chuckles at his fantasy, though it’s more self-deprecating than anything. He takes a deep, shuddering breath, preparing to step out again when Lance’s voice pierces through the silence again.

 

“Keith. Look at me, please. Just for a second.” Lance’s voice is still desperate. Yeah, desperate for Keith to go away.

 

Keith sighs. “What.” It’s a statement more than a question, but Lance takes it as a hint to continue.

 

“Listen, I didn’t want to do this here. I really didn’t. I had a whole thing planned out, with flowers and a date and a romantic walk- the whole cliche. But-” Lance sighs, tears welling up in those beautiful eyes Keith loves. Why is he sad? He doesn’t actually love Keith, right? “-it seems I’ll have to do it now instead.” Lance looks up at him, eyes filled with so much love that Keith is taken aback for a second, just starting to realize how much this man loves him.

 

“Keith, I love you. So much. I really hope you know that.” Keith gets a grasp of what’s happening, too shocked to notice Lance slowly creeping up to him. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Take you on dates, stay up late with you, do everything with you. I just- I need you. You’re my everything, and I’m not going to let anything take you away from me.”

 

Lance had reached him by now, one hand grabbing the rope and angling it away from Keith, the other lifting Keith as he balanced him on his waist, relief washing through him. Weak protests flew from Keith’s mouth, squirming in Lance’s hold as Lance kicked the chair away and started towards the bed.

 

Lance sat Keith down, gently, one hand going to his back pocket while the other pressed down firmly on Keith’s lap. He kneeled in front of him, eyes welling with tears as he held a small black box between them, flicking it open.

 

“Keith Kogane, the man who I love more than anything else in this world- will you marry me?”

 

Keith’s tears threatened to spill again, a whimper escaping from his lips. “You hate me, though! I know it! I mean, Shiro literally does everything I do a million times better. Why would you even love me when you can easily go to him?”

 

Lance shakes his head. “No, no, baby, it’s the opposite. I fucking _adore_ you. Also, even though we’re both adults now, Shiro is like ten years older than me.” Lance scrunched his nose up, earning a small giggle from Keith. Lance beamed at him, booping his nose in hopes to get another giggle. He did.

 

“So, Keith. Babe. Honey. Apple pie.” Keith’s eyes scrunched up as a small chuckle left his mouth, and Lance’s heart swelled with adoration. If Keith- didn’t say yes, he was going to lose it.

 

“Will you marry me?”

 

Keith was quiet for a few moments, eyes darting back to the rope for a split second. Tears welled up yet again as he turned back to Lance, nodding. His voice cracked, full of emotions, but it was clear what he said.

 

“Yes.”

 

Lance’s face lit up, swooping Keith up into his arms as he sat on the bed next to him. He slid the ring onto Keith’s finger, kissing him gently as Keith finally let go, sobs racking through his body. Lance moved them to the top of the bed, laying Keith down as he grabbed a blanket from the floor. He moved back up to Keith, draping the blanket across both of them. Lance brought Keith to his chest, one hand thrown over Keith’s waist while the other started raking through Keith’s hair. Their legs tangled together and Keith dug his face into Lance’s shoulder to hide his tears, not wanting Lance to see him like this.

Lance wasn’t having any of it. He moved back slightly, grabbing Keith’s face in his hands as he looked Keith in the eyes, not letting Keith look away.

 

“Listen to me, Keith. You. Are. Important. You are great at what you do, and you have almost nothing in common with Shiro. Sure, you may both be great at fighting, but there’s more to you. You’re beautiful, smart, and so talented. You’re an amazing pilot, and we all love and appreciate you. Hunk and Pidge love you. Allura and Coran? They love you. Shiro loves you. But I love you more than anyone else. I get the honor of being your husband, which no one else will get to experience. Ever. Plus, who else is happy with a date at Hot Topic?”

 

Keith huffed out a laugh at the last part, tears dried and leaving streaks across his red cheeks. His eyes were puffy and his lips were cracked, but he had never been more ecstatic than now.

 

Lance loved him. Keith believed it. He had believed every word Lance said.

 

Keith snuggled his head back into Lance’s neck, Lance chuckling as he finally slid his shoes off and chucked them across the room. Keith cringed when he heard them thump on the ground, looking up at Lance without moving his head.

 

“You have got to stop doing that.”

 

“Oh, yeah? No one would be there to scold me about it, then.”

 

Keith smiled, bringing his hands up to curl against Lance’s chest. He noticed the engagement ring then, a fond sigh escaping him. It was just a small white ring, but a small, circular blue ruby was set in the middle of it. Lance’s colors.

 

Lance noticed him admiring it, and tapped Keith’s hair, prompting him to look up.

 

“Um, when I was buying this, I saw a matching one with a red ruby and was wondering if we could maybe get it? I know it’s not tradition for the one to propose to get a ring, but I thought it might be cute? If we could get those together? I don’t know, it was just an idea, please don’t-” Keith lifted his head up, silencing Lance with a peck.

 

“That sounds great, Lance.” Keith took a deep breath as he decided on what to say next, something he has never said due to the fear of it not being reciprocated.

 

“I love you.”

 

Lance smiled fondly, tucking a strand of Keith’s hair behind his ear.

 

“I love you too, Keith.”

 

That’s how they fell asleep.

 

Together.


End file.
